CH 12

[Let’s go and steal it right now! I’ll go too!]

“Wait.”

I quickly caught Derakal, who was in a position to run out at any moment. He returned with a discontented face and put his chin on the side of my bed.

[Why? Is it not urgent?]

“Do you know where the stones are stored in the lord’s castle?”

[No? But won’t we find out if we search every part of it?]

“You’ll be distracted by the humans before that. Besides, there could be an all-out war with them if something goes wrong. We should avoid that.”

Nothing is more tiring to deal with than war. My first goal is still to live comfortably without causing any big problems with the humans. That’s also why I’m holding it in to kill that Belsey guy. Derakal, who didn’t know how I felt, had his head on my leg as if he were disappointed, and I could hear the sound of a snap on the floor with his tail.

[It’s annoying. Can’t we just go to war?]

“Are you itching?”

[I want to fight him again! I’m going to win this time!]

“So that’s the purpose.”

I held out a cookie to Derakal with a smile who had a sulky look.

“Why don’t you eat this and hold it in?”

[Wow! I love this!]

Derakal quickly took the cookie out of my hand. Usually you would envision him eating raw meat with blood dripping from it, and now he’s happily accepting my cookie. It was funny and cute, so I patted his head lightly. I think that was also a problem.

[The Devil!]

“How can you do this…!”

“…Huh?”

I looked up in astonishment at the cries of others. There, I saw Deran in shock and Tina staring at me with tears in her eyes.

“What, what’s wrong with you?”

“How, how…!”

[I’m so shocked.]

What the hell did I do wrong? I seriously recalled what I just did. However, no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Tina was in tears, and came at me while shouting,

“Well, feed me some cookies too! Give me a hug! Or pat me on the head!”

“Ah.”

[That’s a shame! He’s the only one you love!]

“That’s…”

[Delicious! Devil! Give me another one, will you?]

“Wait… ugh!”

They all jumped on the bed. I’m going crazy. This is the Devil’s Castle, not kindergarten. Are they worried?

“Huh? Huh? Me too!”

Tina said and rubbed her cheeks. She is usually mature around other people, but she always acted like a child in front of me. Eventually, after I handed out a cookie to all of them, patted their head, and gave them a hug, they were able to escape. I turned my head and saw Sagna glancing from the side.

“You want one?”

[Huh, no! I don’t need you, Fake!]

“… Why are you creeping over there then?”

He won’t be honest anyways.

***

As a result of thinking all day, they agreed that stealing Mahone Stones from the lord’s castle was the best way. There were only two things to keep in mind.

First, check where the stones will be stored.

Second, infiltrate that area and steal them without getting caught.

The past few days consisted of me busy taking care of the young demons during the day and worrying about the stones at night. Also, whenever I had time, I would try meditating to unseal the third power.

“But the third one… I don’t know how it works.”

I sat on the sofa and pressed my sticky head. I failed to find the third power today. The first power was really preserved for 10 years, and the second power was released only after enduring the extreme pain. I already feel sick and tired of doing these things.

‘We don’t have much time.’

The imprint on my palm is now slightly distinct. Originally, there would’ve been less than a year left before the power of massacre began, but because I have been interrupting the mana flow, I have only a few more years left. But, time is still short.

“Woah, and the Mahone Stones… I have a headache.”

I leaned back and forth with a frown.

“Devil!”

Just in time, Tina opened the door and ran in. I was suspicious of the timing she picked to come, and wondered if she planted something in the room. Tina then approached me with her hair tied up.

“Devil, can we go play?”

“Huh? Aren’t you already doing that everyday?”

“Oh, well, that’s true. But you’ve been stuck in the castle lately. Why?”

Tina grabbed me by my arm. Come think of it, she is right. I had a lot of work to do and I was busy, so she must’ve been bored.

“Can’t we?”

Tina looked at me with her puppy eyes. Come think of it, she was dressed in her outdoor clothes unlike usual. She has on her favorite blue dress and her hair combed prettily, and seemed impatient.

‘In order to infiltrate the lord’s castle, we need to go near that area and get some information.’

There was only little heard about the castle, so it wasn’t enough. I got up from my seat with a satisfied look and patted her cheeks.

“Okay. I’m going to go out and cool my head off.”

“Wow!”

Tina held my hand as we both walked down the stairs together, and I had been in agony for a while. Usually, I would’ve asked Deran and Derakal to escort us, but they both looked very tired due to taking care of the demons in the Fortress recently.

‘You won’t mind if I let them rest for a day, won’t you?’

The place we’re going to today was not the usual village, but the city near the castle. The public security would be much better than a small village on the outskirts. In addition, I heard rumors that the security of the surrounding villages have improved a lot.

When did it start? Maybe it was after the warrior came. Oh, and I ordered Deran and Derakal to bring me the guys who had tried harassing me before, but they were missing. Since that day, I haven’t seen them anywhere.

[I think someone got to them first.]

I agreed with Derakal. I don’t care if they’re missing or dead. After shaking my head roughly, I stepped out of my castle. Sagna was entrusted with the task of taking care of and watching other creatures.

“You can do it, right?”

[Are you kidding me. I’ve lived in the Devil’s Castle much longer than you.]

“Yes, yes. If you do a good job I’ll buy you another cookie that you liked.”

[…!]

Sagna’s wings fluttered faster than usual. He was such an easy fellow to read.

***

“Wow, it’s been so long since I rode in a carriage! I’m excited!”

“… Don’t stick your head out, it’s dangerous.”

“Yes. But Lucia… your complexion…”

“… Eup.”

I pressed my hand on my mouth. This damn motion sickness is the same even though I have a different body. My stomach pounds every time the carriage wheel rattles. It was a country carriage, so the speed was slow. The distance was also further.

‘I wish I could teleport, as one of my skills.’

I thought it would be easy because I could do it all the time in the game. But, it was not only necessary, it also required to calculate the magic used. That was too much for a 10-year-old Devil. Instead, a magic circle was drawn near a village that was frequently visited that was connected directly to the Devil’s Castle.

Although it was a tedious process that takes a lot of time and mana to engrave, once it’s made, it could be useful as long as the magic dust was not erased.

The carriage stopped right when I thought I was going to throw up while running on an uneven road for about an hour. As soon as the wheels stopped, I rushed down as if I were jumping out of the carriage.

“Lucia, are you alright?”

“… No. I think I’m going to die.”

It was my dream to create magic circles all over the place like a portal someday. I will never have to ride in a carriage or wagon again. After calming down for a while, we walked slowly towards the inside of the busy street.

“There are so many people here.”

“Yeah, it’s the most crowded part of the territory.”

It was good that there were many people, but it was also bad because that made it more complicated. I pulled my hood slightly lower as I listened to the sound of people passing by. When I go to big and crowded places, I tend to cover my face as much as possible to avoid getting swept away.

“Wow! Look at that, Devil! It’s a soft candy like cotton candy! Wow, and there’s someone over there carrying a strange bird! What else is going on over there with so many people in line?”

Tina talked nonstop. Her steps were also excited, as she was several times faster than usual. I was glad to see her outfit in case I missed her in the big crowd. After living in a small and quiet place, I suddenly felt dizzy coming out to such a crowded place.

“There! Get out of the way!”

I heard someone shouting loudly behind me. But there were so many people around I wasn’t sure where it was coming from.

“Out! Get out of my way!”

Eventually, a fast-running wagon came right up in the middle.

“Ah.”

Originally, I wasn’t very quick-witted. At that moment, I had no choice but to stare at the approaching carriage as if I were a character in a traffic accident in one of those dramas.

“…Ha.”

Someone pulled me.